A large swathe of Bihar's population may be living below the poverty line, but for a small section, the festive season is an opportunity to display wealth.

A large swathe of Bihar's population may be living below the poverty line, but for a small section, the festive season is an opportunity to display wealth.

This was evident when more than 1,700 new cars hit the roads Thursday in Patna alone on Dhanteras, an auspicious day on the Hindu calendar two days ahead of Diwali, the festival of lights.

There was no reflection of the drought that hit a large part of state this year.

Sanjay Kumar Singh, an executive at a private firm and his wife Sanjana were a happy couple Friday, a day after they got delivery of their new car. "We have fulfilled a dream," they said.

The Singhs are one of hundreds of couples here who purchased cars this Dhanteras, ignoring the reality of narrow, congested and potholed Patna roads.

Not all have been as lucky. Kundan Sharma, a government official and his wife Manisha were left disappointed when informed their car could not be delivered on the auspicious day because of a shortage in supply.

"Demand for cars was so high that dealers could not make nearly 200 deliveries," said Ravi Kumar of Alankars Motors.

Kumar said his showroom had targeted making 200 deliveries but could manage only about 100.

"This time nearly 2,000 bookings were made for Dhanteras but not all deliveries could be made. These would be made next week or by the end of this month," Santosh Kumar Jha, an employee of a car showroom said.